Wednesday, March 05, 2014

Preparing for Jesus~

Easter is my favorite holiday.... favorite time of year.  I love Christmas too....  but for me Easter is LESS stressful and truly the way to see JESUS. I. LOVE. THIS. TIME. OF. YEAR.

New Life.....  preparing our hearts.....

We do our LENT a little different.  It is by GRACE we have been saved. ONLY GRACE.

 “Okay… Lent. It’s the preparing the heart for Easter. Like going with Jesus into the wilderness for forty days, that we might come face to ugly face with our enemy. Our sacrificing that we might become more like Christ in His sacrifice.” ~Ann Voskamp

Our hearts, minds, and yes, even our bodies need a time of preparation to lead us joyously to the feast, reluctantly to Gethsemane, solemnly to the cross, and jubilantly to the empty tomb! ~ Chris Seay

People fast from many different things, in many different ways, and for many different ways and for many different reasons. I would like you to avoid trying to sum up the reasoning for your fast with any singular purpose. It is too limiting in regard to the many things God will teach you on this journey. Would you like to develop a more intimate prayer life? Yes. Would you like to develop a healthier and simpler diet that will sustain you long after this fast? Yes. Do you want to identify with the poor and become increasingly generous? Yes. Would you like to abandon patterns of addictive and selfish behavior? Yes. If you are like me and you weigh more than you should, would you like to lose weight? Yes. All of this is spiritual, and not one of these desired outcomes is unacceptable. In fast, I pray that you experience all of them. ~ Chris Seay (A Place at the Table~40 Days of Solidarity with the Poor)

We will be doing some special, fun things the next 40 days + Holy Week. I am excited. We always do our The Way of the Light Wreath ~  I just love this.



We also have several things we do through Lent......
 We love reading Amon's Adventure. At Christmas for Advent we have read the Jotham Triology.
We also do several other things but I will share more later.....  

How do you celebrate Lent & Easter?  I would love for you to share.....

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
-Ephesians 2:8,9


Grace~ Teena

4 comments:

  1. Not having been part of a faith community that observes Lent, it's only been in recent years that I have come to appreciate this time of sacrifice and repentance.

    This year I am using Jen Hatmaker's book 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess as my launching pad and am fasting in 7 areas of my life. I am sick of being so "full" of everything and am ready to empty myself and make room for God.

    And then there is our trip - a life changing experience for our family tucked right into the middle of it all.

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    1. I am reading her book too. I started it this past summer but laid it down. I like the end of the 7's ~ Waste, Stress, Media and Spending. Those are the ones I have to key in on. Excited about your trip..... praying for you!

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  2. I'm looking forward to spring-new beginnings! With our littles we usually focus on being outside & gardening. I've never embraced lent, but I am working on taking care of my "temple" the Lord has entrusted me with...learning self control through my weight loss lately. That has taught me a lot of giving up & sacrificing. It's totally against my normal indulging. This is a 1st ever attempt to loose weight before. It's a slow go but rewarding once I learned how to embrace the journey! Enjoyed your post!

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    1. I am trying here too..... Miss you!

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